Unusually High Institutional Ownership Stocks

I was doing some research on something totally unrelated, tax stocks, when I discovered that institutions and mutual funds own 98% of the float and 98% of the shares of Jackson Hewitt Tax Service (JTX).

I thought that was an extremely high percentage. Do individual investors own only 2% of the JTX shares?

I decided to do some further research and found some other very high percentage ownerships. For example, Qwest Communications International (Q) has 90% of the shares owned by institutions, including mutual funds, and 107% of the float owned by institutions. Alleghany Corp. (Y) has 65% of its shares and 103% of the float owned by institutions. Look at Shaw Group (SGR). Institutions own 97% of the shares and 118% of the float.

Now for the most amazing ownership percentages. Avid Technology Inc. (AVID) has 112% of the float owned by institutions and 104% of the total shares owned by institutions. How is this possible? How can institutions own over 100% of the shares? Other than a calculation error, there seems to me to be only a couple ways this could happen. If there is no double counting involved, then either some of the institutions own shares on margin and/or there are naked short sellers that are shorting shares that don't exist. I am tracking these shares on stockpickr.com to see if there is any effect of the high institutional ownership on the stock price.

If you are aware of any other very high institutional ownership stocks, please post in the comments.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above.

Comments

[Ron Coleman:]

I am interested to see if there is any effect on the stocks that have such a large ownership. At first thought, it would seem that these stocks could be less volatile as the large institutions do not sell in and out as often as individual investors. But on the flip side, when they do buy in and out, there is usually a larger swing in the direction they are moving. Keep us posted.

2007 Apr 23 01:47 PM

[Jasonian.:]

NFLX is 97%. CROX is 92%.

2007 Oct 31 10:42 PM

[NYUGradMatt:]

Benjamin Graham, The Intelligent Investor, P.375

Check out the Neighborhood.
Excerpt: Anything over 60% (institution ownership) suggests that a stock is scarcely undiscovered and probably "overowned." When big institutions sell, they tend to move in lockstep, with disastrous results for the stock. Imagine all the Radio City Rockettes toppling off the front edge of the stage at once and you get the idea. Those website will also tell you who the largest owners of the stock are. If they are money management firms that invest in a style similar to your own, thats a good sign.

2007 Dec 13 10:33 PM

[BoiseStatek...:]

gmcr is on a tear and is 95% inst. owned

Apr 28 10:42 PM

[dvmaprezson:]

ARCC is 72% institutionally owned, according to google finance, and 69% according to yahoo.

I'd guess it's because of the solidly increasing dividends. 17 straight quarterly dividend payments made, and it only went down once. Pretty nice dividend yield stock.

May 05 11:35 AM

[Roget:]

CIT Group is at 94%

Jul 24 10:45 AM